Bangkok--10 Oct--core&peak
Ministry of Transport hosted a seminar “Public Relations Campaign to Raise Awareness and Learn the Public Hearings on Development Roadmap for Transportation Infrastructure for year 2013 — 2020” to lay foundation on upgrading the transportation infrastructure in the long run to support the development of logistics system for the upcoming ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2015.
Minister of Transport H.E. Charupong Ruangsuwan presided over the opening ceremony of the seminar “Public Relations Campaign to Raise Awareness and Learn the Public Hearings on Development Roadmap for Transportation Infrastructure for year 2013 — 2020” on 24 September 2012 at Chiang Mai University. Over 500 delegates comprised of representatives from public and private sectors as well as partakers crowded the Convention Hall of Chiang Mai University. The seminar aimed to encourage participation, raise awareness, promote understanding and conduct surveys on all related parties who will be affected by this investment plan. Therefore, Thai people will take part in the execution of this mega project. Moreover, the Ministry could prepare reports on the opinions of local people to be used as to be used as supporting documents for issuing the Act on national infrastructure investment in the future.
After the function, the Minister took a trip to check the readiness of infrastructure development for railway transportation to push forward the high-speed train project from Bangkok to Chiang Mai which stretches over 616 kilometers at the speed of 300 kms / hr. and take 3 hours to reach destination. To date, the MOU between Thai government and Chinese government was already signed. The contract signing and project launch will begin within 2013.
The Minister added that the government’s policy statement to the Parliament on 24 August 2011 would focus on many operations of Ministry of Transport including the development of transportation infrastructure, the 10 new routes of elevated train system with passenger fee of 20 baht all the way, the development of marine transportation and merchant marine business, the development of international and regional airports as well as the aviation industry to serve the upcoming AEC in 2015. The government already prepared the Infrastructure Development Plan for year 2013 — 2020 with investment value of 2 trillion baht to cover land, rail, marine and air transportations to serve the economic growth over the next 10 — 15 years. Most of the development plans relate transportation which would sharpen the national competitive edges. As this infrastructure development plan is regarded as the long-term project which will affect Thai people at all levels, the executions should raise awareness, promote understanding, encourage participation among local people to promote their attentions towards this mega project while collecting opinions from all related parties in each region.
Continued the Minister, “As the key economic province for the northern region, Chiang Mai must speed up its transportation infrastructure development by focusing on railway which will be connected to the network of dual rail system and high-speed trains from Bangkok to Chiang Mai and Bangkok to Nong Khai to Vientiane. The study processes by Japan and China was already over and the project will begin in 2014. In the future, this route will be connected to high-speed trains from Lao PRD and China to pass through Malaysia under the standard railway development to connect all countries in Greater Maekong Sub Region and ASEAN countries. The developments on logistics and transportations via land, sea and air will be executed simultaneously such as the construction of the 5th Maekong bridge and the 2nd Sea Port in Chiang Saen.
In this regard, Ministry of Transport hosted this seminar to educate, promote understanding as well as survey comments on this transportation infrastructure development plan with all related parties and local to gain their consensus for further analysis on the challenges and opportunities of all projects to optimize the benefits for all Thai people and sharpen national competitive edges.